December 13, 2018

Hey, Dude, Where's My Collusion?

Yeah, yeah, and Al Capone was busted for tax evasion. More to the point, Richard Nixon was busted for (among other things) campaign finance irregularities. But for heaven's sake - the Watergate investigation started with irrefutable evidence of a break-in at DNC headquarters, which we all understand to be a crime. Not to mention that Nixon wondering whether the CIA could head off the FBI investigation looked a lot like obstruction and an abuse of Presidential power.

But Trump and Cohen? For better or worse, paying off former Playmates and playmates is not a crime. As to whether the actual mechanism violated campaign finance rules, well, first of all, that is why Trump hired lawyers. Lacking evidence that Cohen advised Trump this was illegal and Trump ordered him to go full speed ahead anyway, where is the criminal intent? And a perceived lack of criminal intent is why Hillary is not serving time for her server shenanigans.

This is a crime so subtle that charging it looks like yet another interminable NFL booth review of a sideline catch, where replay officials host a seance to determine the location of various body parts relative to ground and sideline and then enlist diviners to judge whether the receiver was juggling the ball, had firm possession, engaged in a football move, or whatever.

If the campaign finance case as laid out by prosecutors is true, [incoming House Judiciary Chair] Mr. Nadler said, Mr. Trump would be likely to meet the criteria for an impeachable offense, and he said he would instruct his committee to investigate when he takes over in January.

But he added that did not necessarily mean that the committee should vote to impeach Mr. Trump. “Is it serious enough to justify impeachment?” he asked. “That is another question.”

Democrats can use it as a tack-on to their central charge of "Orange Hair Bad".

What I heard is that the first Super Bowl was recorded over the footage of the moon landing and then they recorded Battle of the Network Stars over that. So really we have very little proof the moon landing really happened other than Suzanne Somers' word for it.

From your Matewan link: when the 17th-century villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing were united in 1913. The name was inspired by the fires that blazed atop Mount Beacon during the American Revolution to warn George Washington of British troop movements

That reminds me that my favorite Tavern in Summit NJ was The Beacon Hill Tavern and it used to have some literature mentioning it's roll in the Revolution as a signaler to Washington's troops of enemy movements.

Is that the same territory? The Tavern was a nice old 'hole in the wall' place that we really enjoyed.

Off the top of my head, Boston evicted the British army and navy. NJ suffered several attacks. The British lost at Saratoga, in part because of a planned campaign against Philadelphia. NJ was never captured. Upstate NY and New England were lost to the British, which made NJ the new choke point to be eliminated.

With NJ still in the mix they could communicate northward through NY. And they could communicate to the south.

When the British shifted their attack to the south, they eventually wound up in Yorktown pursued by the southern forces. Washington, with his forces, slipped out of NJ, and met the southern forces at Yorktown.

NJ had several setbacks, with the British gaining control of many areas, but they were always retaken.

It's actually the images of the duke and duchess of cambridge and tots as well as chrles nd camilla. I guess making title about hrry and meghan must drive clicks. The actual title was "Royals release christmas cards.

JOM must be breaking the odds for long-term marriages and parents over 90.

I'm half in that category. My mom is 87, she had one aunt who lived to 101, another to 97. My paternal grandmother lived to be 92, and my aunts on that side are all in their 90's and still going strong.

The men in my family, on the other hand, don't tend to live nearly as long. So we'll see who i take after.

JimNJ, thanks for all the Revolution information. Somehow my spotty US history class missed the details about upstate NY being in the hands of the Brits. Now, I’m rather curious to find out which side my ancestors were on. I know all the southerners were all in on breaking free, but I suspect the N.Y. contingent might have been a little more cynical and hedged their bets.

Learned how to make tamales the other night with a huge group of women. Does anyone have a favorite filling recipe to share? We had a lot of chorizo/ cotija cheese combinations.

Barrett's Trolley will either succeed or fail on it's merits, but I've had several listeners who work downtown say the trolley is so slow that they can walk to where they need to go faster.
Two said weren't against the trolley before-just found it useless after trying it.

And I mean happens openly and publicly and indisputedly. When charges against one of the targets of the witch hunt are actually thrown out. When one of Mieller’s inquisitors is sanctioned or disbarred. When one single effing Democrat is charged, with anything.

I am not interested, not one bit, in the latest breathless scoop from Hannity that promises the world and delivers ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in reality.

but I suspect the N.Y. contingent might have been a little more cynical and hedged their bets.

My ancestor from Manhattan was the only Patriot of 17 siblings. He inherited and sold to the Govt what is now the main part of USMA, but moved to Person Co. NC, a real backwater, after seeing it during the Rev. The county now has one small town, Roxboro.

"Learned how to make tamales the other night with a huge group of women. Does anyone have a favorite filling recipe to share? We had a lot of chorizo/ cotija cheese combinations."

Hi Robin!

Maw would crank out 5 dozen on Christmas Eve morning for post-Mass gorging on Christmas afternoon. Along with medudo and her legendary enchiladas.

She didn't use any grasa in her masa nor did she use pork in her fillings. But she had this way of making her masa light and flavorful---- she'd boil a pork roast in "las palmas" brand enchilada sauce until it fell apart. the broth got mixed in her masa concoction. sooieeee!

her fillings were several: 1)beef with chili sauce (ancho); 2)chicken with ancho sauce; 3) green chilis (halved- deveined) with a strip of jack cheese - from Monterrey!; 4) minced jalapen~0-- straight no chasers; 5)"sweet tamales" with raisins seeded into the masa, no filling (the abuelitas would come over and dunk these in their Chase and Sandborn instant coffee Maw would serve them, their favorite cafecito).

Maw didn't use measuring devices of any kind. And she taught me to do the same.

i have met ZERO individuals who do not LOVE tah-mah-less!

A new culinary world has opened for you, eh? now all you need is a Thermomix from Clarice (i gotchoo, CF!)

Tom R: that link re the DIA papers affirms my "belief" that military intelligence is the backbone of POTUS' strategy to take down the Deep State.

There was an article, which i'm sure you remember, about "Trump's Spooks" from early last week(?) that laid out the theory.

i also have a theory that Mossad has been useful gathering information and evidence of CIA/FBI misdeeds. The US military intel and Mossad combination has the juevos to bring the entire mess down--even snaring The Rat and his NatSec cabal of Rice, Power, Brennan, the Clap et al.

just broad brush stroking here. Solomon has been annointed as the media mouthpiece for planned dissemination of information it seems to me.

what's your take on the impatience and pull the pin on this declass "yesterday already!"

i think the use of military tribunals are imminent. and it's why Mueller is being allowed to taunt Trump with federal judges who seem to grace the SP with favorable decisions--- building the case for Trump to execute the cabal in military courts.

at any rate.... i do confess to finding the slow drip excruciating in the wake of losing the House. everyone likes to win *all the time*, right?

Something did happen. John Solomon is on Hannity pretty much every single night. At no point since Flynn was indicted has anyone ever reported that the DIA, who Flynn used to be the commander of, possessed exculpatory evidence in Flynn’s favor.

You can infer that whoever Solomon’s source is leaked that information to him within the past day or two. That tells you that there are some people, likely military if the leaker is from the DIA, who know the truth and want that information to be made public. The other comment that should stand out was the comment that Trump doesn’t know about that DIA information. That tells you whoever leaked that info to Solomon is a Trump ally. Now the public can call for the declassification of the DIA info. If Trump declassified the info, his enemies would say he is obstructing justice or some other BS.

i apologize in advance to Mr. Maguire for needing Roto Rooter in the wake of my posts. you know, the whole "JOM has become a cesspool" allegation.

fui.

off to have an espresso with the charming and delightful Mrs. Kid. Anya Pup gets mineral water!

the Central coast.... thinking about getting a second home here. not ever going to part with Sagehill atop Berkeley on Grizzly Peak. but i'd like to be able to spend more time here writing once we pull the trigger on "the golden years."

Mrs Kid is taking a lil longer getting prepped for public appearance this morning. it's always worth the wait. she can make sack cloth look fit for the red carpet.

just read MM's Federalist "bombshell article"---

"On Tuesday, attorneys for Michael Flynn filed a sentencing memorandum and letters of support for the former Army lieutenant general in federal court. The sentencing memorandum reveals for the first time concrete evidence that the FBI created multiple 302 interview summaries of Flynn’s questioning by now-former FBI agent Peter Strzok and a second unnamed agent, reported to be FBI Special Agent Joe Pientka."

Doesn't this appear to be a misstep by the SP? It opened a door for the judge to order release of all existing 302 material.

Will this turn Mueller's giordian knot into a hapless slipknot re LTG Flynn?

The judge can still take dismissal off the table.
But wouldn't such a glaring miscarriage of justice by a federal court judge cement the case for using military tribunals when POTUS goes on the attack?

Should the judge order a dismissal of the LTG Flynn case, wouldn't that put severe pressure on Mueller to wrap up his weenie smear report, and turn over his "roadmap for impeachment" to the HOR to take up come January?

i do confess to finding the slow drip excruciating in the wake of losing the House. everyone likes to win *all the time*, right?

I'm not sure that having a sniveling deep state enabler like Paul Ryan in charge was winning for our side. I still think that song and dance about him taking the Speakers job because nobody else wanted it was just another Failure Theater production by the R wing of the Uniparty trotted out for those lazy MFM loads to report unchallenged. Really? One of the largest collection of ego hounds and nobody wants the highest exposure gig second in line for the big whopper? It takes real stupidity to report that with a straight face but nobody does that better.

The good thing for the House is that being target practice for Little Dick Turdbin's pen pal seems to have exorcised Scalise of his RINO tendencies. Too bad it took such extreme measures but confronting your mortality can be very convincing.

daddy,
Here is the straight [non Chester] poop.
Your sister can ship the guns to a dealer in Alaska for you to receive them from. She doesn't need to take them to a dealer on her end.
HOWEVER, she can't use the US Post Office to do it. If they were long guns she could but USPS regs prevent private citizens from mailing handguns.
So she can UPS or FedEx them to your dealer. She might want to check prices because it might actually be cheaper to just take them to a dealer on her end and use the USPS, considering it's an AK thing.
Not sure why you can't just toss them in the cargo hold of your plane next time you're in Indy but you know company regs better than me.

CH: you know how i feel about Meat Flaps as SOTH.
i meant "winning" in terms of keeping the HOR and electing a sympatico SOTH to push through MAGA and build effective coalition in doing so. yer dead on though on all the rest. :D

A bit. Not to be culturally insensitive but Latin Jazz doesn't transport me to my happy place as I've informed the Chi Town lurker before. Maybe I'll give it a second chance when my WiFi speakers are operational.

I don't agree with TomR's [and RG's] 4D chess ideas.
Having said that, Tom does keep track of a lot of details and corrects a lot of mistaken beliefs. He can be prickly, but aside from the odious troll no one here is more criticized or personally insulted than him, usually prior to his prickliness.

Moreover, while I don't subscribe to 4D theory, neither do I think Trump is simply sitting there with his hands on the proof of what a bunch of criminals out to get him have done in the past without a plan to make them pay one way or another.
Part of the problem is he is hemmed in so long as Mueller keeps monkeying around which is no doubt why Mueller keeps monkeying around. But it strains credulity that he has not instructed investigations to proceed regarding the vast treasure of abuse by these creeps.
I mean to say, the Collyer report indicates 85% of the searches of NSA and FISA stuff is improper? That by itself is an astounding level of corruption and lawlessness.

My belief based on Trump's history is two components are delaying things;
1. He can't compromise ongoing investigations and;
2. He takes seriously the idea that Mueller and the Dems will really try to remove him from office and he has packaged up a doomsday event of dirt that he won't use until Mueller and the Dems get to their end game.

I know the midterms were viewed by some as the be all and end all but perhaps Trump doesn't see it that way. He isn't dumb and he has shown in the past a pronounced ability to think strategically and long term and to play things close to his vest until he needs them. I see no reason to start thinking otherwise.

Senator Feinstein’s 2016 senior staffer (with Gang-of-Eight security clearance) was Dan Jones. It was revealed this year that Dan Jones sent Fusion GPS over $50 million to continue work on the Russia Conspiracy angle after the 2016 election toward the ideological goals of removing President Trump. [See Here]

The [See Here] link goes to a piece that says no such thing, and there's no reason to believe that Jones would fork over that amount of money to Fusion GPS.

He can be prickly, but aside from the odious troll no one here is more criticized or personally insulted than him, usually prior to his prickliness.

He's overly argumentative in support of a lifetime creep who personifies the excesses of the Deep State, based on a brief meeting with DJT prior to his appointment as Special Counsel in which nobody knows what happened. Plus Tom consistently defends the power of the state over the rights of the accused.

--The [See Here] link goes to a piece that says no such thing, and there's no reason to believe that Jones would fork over that amount of money to Fusion GPS.--

True but not as significant as it first seems. Jones formed his own group dedicated, unlike FusionGPS, solely to taking down Trump. The $50 million funds that group from which he funds Fusion. But he also stated his own group's entire work product was available to remove Trump.
So while Sundance's claim as to where the money is being siphoned was wrong, its use is as he stated, which in a lot of ways is more troubling. How many other secret prog hit squads are out there?

Steve Herman
@W7VOA
·
1m
#Turkey on Wednesday announced it would launch a military operation against the US-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, prompting a warning from @DeptofDefense
that any such action would be unacceptable.

7 News can reveal a major shift in Middle Eastern policy. Australia is set to recognise Jerusalem formally as the capital of Israel. The Prime Minister is promising 'a two state solution' but Arab countries are threatening an economic boycott.

Jones formed his own group dedicated, unlike FusionGPS, solely to taking down Trump. The $50 million funds that group from which he funds Fusion. But he also stated his own group's entire work product was available to remove Trump.

Did Jones really say that? Here's from the website:

The Penn Quarter Group (The PQG) provides confidential research and investigative advice to businesses, law firms, not-for profits, political entities, and individuals. We specialize in assessing investigative needs, evaluating investigative reports, and responding to investigative findings. The PQG also conducts targeted research and composes confidential reports for clients in a variety of industries.

ZTE has reportedly hired former Sen. Joe Lieberman to help the Chinese telecom giant allay fears in Washington that it poses a threat to national security. He will spearhead an assessment of its products, as the company tries to ensure U.S. officials that it is not a spy for the Chinese government.

So Israel and the gulf states and Egypt had an understanding if not a formal alliance, they were screwed by the Iran deal, they knew Hillary would continue and trump held out hope of a change, therein lies the rub.

The DC Circuit is about to hear arguments in the sealed grand jury matter. They've sealed not only the courtroom, but the whole floor, so we've been moved away. Haven't recognized anyone going in earlier as being connected to Mueller's office, now we won't be able to see

Jones met with the FBI and described PQG as "exposing foreign influence in US elections."
It also quotes someone [not clear if it is Jones and they forgot to redact his name one time or if it is someone else from PQG] that 7 to 10 wealthy donors had given him $50 million to do so and he had funded Fusion and Steele from that and intended to give PQG's entire holdings to the FBI.

Seems to me, considering what we know has occurred and what was told to the FBI, it's a pretty safe bet Jones is doing exactly what he said he's doing and rather less than what his company's prospectus claims.

I get a kick out of the Eeyore's here who bitch and complain that nothing is getting done to drain the Swamp and then when there is positive news in MAGA's favor they don't want to talk about it or refuse to even acknowledge it.

Tom, I still want to stress that we're on the same side. Someone at AoS commented that people there who ordinarily like each other have been at each other's throats. I think its borne out of frustration with the GOP's past failures and lack of tangible progress.

So, I'm wondering if any of the WS cheerleaders might get a clue that maybe just maybe they are the ones who need to rethink their beliefs and join the fight on the right side rather than the rest of us being a bunch of uncouth morons.
Yeah, I know.

TomR has time and again reminded me of issues, statements and FACTS that counter what someone else has said.
Anyone who has an opinion about a lot of this stuff, from any side, necessarily does not have all the evidence. But for some reason his assumptions and his person are particularly subject to ridicule.